PRINCIPAL FINANCIAL GROUP Business Summary

Principal Financial Group Inc. (PFG) operates a diversified global financial services model, generating revenue through insurance premiums, asset management fees, and net investment income. The company is organized into three primary business segments: Retirement and Income Solutions (RIS), which provides comprehensive workplace savings and institutional retirement products; Principal Asset Management (Investment Management), offering specialized investment strategies to institutional and retail clients; and Benefits & Protection, which delivers specialty benefits like dental and vision alongside life insurance solutions. As of early 2026, the firm has pivoted toward capital-efficient growth, specifically targeting the small-to-medium business (SMB) demographic and divesting non-core assets like its Chilean annuity business to optimize its return on equity. Principal competes directly with large-scale institutional peers such as Manulife Financial, Prudential Financial, MetLife, and Fidelity Investments, maintaining a dominant market position as a top-tier provider of defined contribution plans and pension risk transfer solutions in the United States. Founded in 1879 by Edward Temple and a group of Des Moines bankers as the Bankers Life Association, the company has evolved from a mutual insurer into a Fortune 500 global investment leader. The current leadership team is headed by Deanna Strable, who assumed the role of President and CEO in January 2025 after a distinguished tenure as the company’s COO and CFO. She is supported by Executive Vice President and CFO Joel M. Pitz, who took office in May 2025, and Kathleen B. Kay, the Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer overseeing the firm's digital transformation. The board is currently led by Executive Chair Daniel J. Houston, the former CEO who oversaw the pivotal 2019 acquisition of Wells Fargo’s retirement business. Notable institutional influence remains shaped by activist investor Elliott Investment Management, which secured board representation in 2021 to drive the company’s ongoing shift toward a more capital-light, high-growth business mix.